Astros vs. Royals Betting Odds, Pitching Matchup – August 31, 2024

Two of the league’s top hitters will meet Saturday when the Houston Astros (73-62) and Kansas City Royals (75-61) take to the field at 7:10 p.m. ET, live on SCHN. Yordan Alvarez is batting .312 for the Astros (-186 favorites on the moneyline) while Bobby Witt Jr. leads the underdog Royals (+156) with a .341 average. Yusei Kikuchi starts for Houston while Cole Ragans is Kansas City’s starter for the contest.

Be sure to check out our preview for this contest, and uncover all of our expert MLB picks, too!

Astros vs. Royals Betting Lines

• Favorite: Astros (-186)
• Underdog: Royals (+156)
• Over/under: 7.5

Astros vs. Royals Betting Insights

• The Astros have won in 55, or 56.7%, of the 97 contests they have been named as odds-on favorites in this year.
• Houston has a record of 13-4 in contests when oddsmakers favor them by -186 or more on the moneyline.
• The Astros have an implied victory probability of 65% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
• The Royals have been the moneyline underdog 68 total times this season. They’ve finished 31-37 in those games.
• Kansas City has played as a moneyline underdog of +156 or longer in only two games this season, which it split 1-1.
• The implied moneyline probablility for this matchup gives the Royals a 39.1% chance to win.

Astros vs. Royals Hitting Leaders

• Alvarez leads Houston in batting average (.312) and home runs (28) this season, while also chipping in with 71 RBI.
• Among batters in baseball, Alvarez is 12th in homers and 40th in RBI.
• Jose Altuve has collected 160 hits this season and has an OBP of .351. He’s slugging .443 on the year.
• Witt paces the Royals with 28 home runs and has racked up a team-high batting average of .341.
• In all of MLB, Witt ranks 12th in homers and eighth in RBI.
• Salvador Perez is batting .277 with 26 doubles, 25 home runs and 38 walks.

Astros vs. Royals Pitching Rankings

• The Astros average 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings as a pitching staff, second-most in the league.
• The Astros have the fifth-best ERA (3.73) in the majors this season.
• The Astros have a combined WHIP of 1.241 as a pitching staff, which ranks 11th in MLB.
• The 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings compiled by the Royals pitching staff ranks 24th in MLB.
• Kansas City’s 3.90 team ERA ranks 11th among all MLB pitching staffs.
• The Royals have the 18th-ranked WHIP in baseball (1.275).